When two-sport Tahoma High School standout Brody Sullivan talks, people listen. But it’s how the verbal commit to play NCAA lacrosse at the University of Mount Olive in North Carolina backs up his words that is turning heads.

Sullivan, who will captain the Tahoma lacrosse team for the second year this spring and winner of two school letters in football, is the second student-athlete from Tahoma this month to commit to play lacrosse at the NCAA level. Two weeks ago Tahoma’s Hudson Taylor signed a National Letter of Intent to play at NCAA Division II University of the District of Columbia.

Following graduation this spring, Sullivan will join a Division II Mount Olive squad that is already stacked with nine Washington state players including its upcoming 2015 freshman class that includes four from the Evergreen state.

“It’s an honor to play at Mount Olive. I feel privileged to have the opportunity,” said the 6-0, 200-pound midfielder who was looking both for an NCAA program where he could have an impact and a program with its sights set on success.

And Mount Olive is an NCAA lacrosse program on the rise.

After completing its 2013 inaugural NCAA season with a .500 record, head coach Mike Murphy earned Conference Carolinas Coach of The Year honors in 2014 finishing the season with a 13-3 record and advancing to the conference championship game.

For a student-athlete competing among the state’s best and figuring among the top four in scoring in each of his three years of prep play, Mount Olive is a perfect fit.

And as a freshman Sullivan will have an opportunity to play with seven seniors at his position, honing skills and lacrosse IQ.

“When you play at a high school level everyone is only going to be as athletic as their team,” said Sullivan who was discovered by Murphy while he was playing in Maryland’s Champ Camp tournament in July. “Everyone there is going to be an athlete and not everyone is not going to roll over,” he said. “All of these guys want to win. I think I’ll roll in just fine.”

At Tahoma, Sullivan’s results impressed.

As a junior, Sullivan was selected to the Division I SPSL/Narrows All-Conference First Team posted 34 points (19g, 15a) and 41 ground balls. The Bears finished on top of the SPSL/Narrows Conference with a 13-5-0 record, missing the state title game by a single goal after falling to Washington state Division I runner-up Issaquah High School in the state semifinals.

After making an official visit in October to the liberal arts campus of some 4,700 students, including nine from Washington state on the lacrosse team, just southeast of the Raleigh-Durham area, Sullivan knew he had the right fit.

“The guys were pretty cool. I meshed pretty well,” said Sullivan, who along with studying, lacrosse and football, volunteers up to four hours a week with King County Parks and Recreation. He also volunteers with other students maintaining local parks, is a leader with his youth group, the Generational Hope Christian Center and participates in community food drives and hands out Thanksgiving meals through the Maple Valley Food Bank.

Other Washington state high school graduates playing lacrosse at the University of Mount Olive are seniors Jon Williams (Lynnwood, Wash. / Lynnwood High School, and Alex Tindall (Lynnwood, Wash. / Meadowdale High School), juniors Ryan Morris and Luke Morris (both of Snohomish, Wash. / Providence Classical Christian School), Nico Shewey (Redmond, Wash. / Redmond HS). The Trojans freshman class includes Tindall’s brother Jordan Tindall (Lynnwood, Wash. / Meadowdale High School), Davyd Powell (Snohomish, Wash. / Snohomish High School), Gabe Girgus (Snohomish, Wash. / Cedar Park Christian School) and Niko May (Edmonds, Wash. / Meadowdale High School).

Last spring, its second year of NCAA play, Mount Olive posted a pair of 20-goal games and went to the wire against national top five programs and conference members Limestone (national runner-up) and Pfeiffer. In 2013, Murphy’s Trojans ranked sixth in the nation in scoring offense with 13.50 goals per game in 2013.

But it’s football, where the well-honed Sullivan is the smallest offensive tackle and nose guard on the squad that has helped him excel on the lacrosse field.

“(Tahoma football coach Tony Johnson) encourages us to play two sports,” Sullivan said. “ He’s proud that we’re competing outside of football.”

And there’s plenty of success to go around in Covington.

On the gridiron, like lacrosse, Tahoma is successful.

This fall, behind the athletic line-play of Sullivan, the Bears advanced to the first round of this fall’s WIAA 4A state tournament.

“I hear a lot from coaches that they like athletes that play two sports,” said Sullivan, one of four lacrosse student-athletes playing football at Tahoma. “The toughness of football gives me an edge in lacrosse. And as a lineman, lacrosse helps my footwork and gives me better speed and endurance. Especially late in the season when everyone else’s legs are dead.”

At Mount Olive, Sullivan plans to study criminal justice and potentially pursue a career in law enforcement. It’s a field that captured his interest while doing a job-shadow with a Maple Valley police officer during his junior year.

While the experience has excited Sullivan for a career in public service, it’s lacrosse that his coach sees as an important proving ground for success in any field. And life.

“Brody has very high character. He’s the guy that when he talks, everyone stops and listens,” said Tahoma lacrosse coach Brian Johnson.

Character traits that became all to clear last spring with time running out in Tahoma’s quarterfinal home playoff matchup with state powerhouse Bainbridge High School.

“We were up by a single goal with 17 seconds to go,” Johnson reminisced about the time-out he called to settle his yet untested team — clearly rattled by a pressuring Spartans squad.

“Brody stepped in and told the guys ‘we’ve got this. Let’s finish this off’. Then took over and made the decisive play,” said Sullivan who watched as his captain grabbed the ground ball that trickled free of the faceoff then ran out the clock to secure the critical 8 – 7 playoff win and keep the Bears post-season dreams alive.

“He brought calm to an intense situation,” Johnson said. “His confidence and leadership ability just took over.”

For Sullivan, it’s all part-and-parcel to a day’s work and trusting yourself.

“The game is fast. You have to make quick, good and rational decisions,” he said. “But the social skills are the most important. Communication and working well with adversity is critical. You have to trust your gut and your instincts and not mess up your morals and ethics.”